The Elemental Patrons

The Five Planetary Cardinals are Raven, the patron of Air Magic; Lunae, the patron of Water Magic; Mare, the patron of Earth Magic; Laamas, the Patron of Fire Magic, and Vacunos, the patron of Void Magic.

Priests of Dragonswright

Priests of Orb are generally Good in alignment, and usually specialize in Healing spells. Priests of Ra are generally Good in alignment, and usually specialize in a single school of Elemental spells such as Air, Earth, Fire, or Water, and rarely Void. Priests of Ahi are generally Good in alignment, and they can learn some Void Magic spells, but usually specialize in Divination and Knowledge based spells. Any priest of Dragonswright can learn any Electrical spell. Every Dragonswright priest must take "Speak with Animals" as their first spell. This is supposedly to talk to Dragons. Dragonswright priests will never take any dragon controlling spells. Outside of Tre’Volos, many Dragonswright churches just have one officiating Cleric. Any race may become a Priest or Cleric of Dragonswright.

The Church of Dragonswright

There is also a church that worships the Greater Dragons called the Church of Dragonswright. Some temples are set up for worship of individual Greater Dragons, but most are set up to worship all three known Greater Dragons. Dragonswright priests generally choose a specific Greater Dragon as their focus of worship and interest. Many churches of Dragonswright exist throughout the world, but only a few large cities have temples to each one of the Greater Dragons separately. Most smaller cities and towns have just one temple to all three Greater Dragons.

Other Dragons

Some of the other known Lesser and Greater Dragons include: White (Ice), Red (Fire), Orange, Yellow, Green (Gas), Blue (Water), Violet, Purple, Black (Acid), and many others. There are also Gem Dragons, including: Diamond, Topaz, Opal, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, Amethyst, and Jet (Obsidian), among others. Others include: Brown (Earth), Crystal (Air), Chinese (the only one without wings known), and, of course, Chromatic and Metallic Dragons, including Gold, Silver, and Copper Dragons. The existence of Shard Dragons, although commonly believed, has never been proven.

The Greater Dragons — Ahi

Ahi is a large brilliant Silver Greater Dragon worshiped by the Dragonswright church as the bringer of knowledge and magic. Ahi can speak, read, and write any known language, and is the equivalent of a Master Mage. Ahi represents cold, winter, silver, and knowledge, among other things. Ahi, strangely, is associated with darkness. Ahi is rarely seen in public. A public appearance of Ahi in Dragon form usually means something cataclysmic =is= occurring. Ahi can remember all magical events going back to almost the formation of the world. Ahi prefers to speak to Priests of Dragonswright and those of Good alignment. Ahi prefers to ignore those of Evil alignment. If attacked, Ahi is the equivalent of a 21st level Master Mage. Ahi can also shapechange and has other abilities. If appearing in human form, Ahi takes the shape of a young, attractive, Oriental looking woman wearing ornate grey robes with silver embroidery. She has, among other skills, three levels of Magery, is a master of flight, has inherent Magical Aptitude, and, as a last resort, can attack with all four claws and her tail and bite. She can use her "Cone of Cold" Breath Weapon up to twenty times a day. Ahi can also shapechange and has other abilities. No one in their right mind would even think of attacking Ahi for fear that the sun would go out.

The Greater Dragons — Ra

Ra is a large brilliant Copper Greater Dragon worshiped by the Dragonswright church as the bringer of fire. Ra is associated with twilight — either dawn or dusk – when Orb is not visible. Ra's brilliant copper sheen has faded somewhat with time and age. Ra can speak, read, and write any known language. Ra represents fire, and is highly revered by Dwarves. Ra is rarely seen in public. Any public appearance of Ra in Dragon form usually means something cataclysmic is about to occur. Ra can remember most events going back to almost the formation of the world. Ra prefers to speak to Priests of Dragonswright and those of Good alignment. Ra prefers to ignore those of Evil alignment. If attacked, Ra is the equivalent of a 21st level Master Mage. He has, among other skills, three levels of Magery, is a master of flight, has inherent Magical Aptitude, and, as a last resort, can attack with all four claws and his tail and bite. He can use his Breath Weapon, consisting of concentrated Flame, up to twenty times a day. Ra can also shapechange and has other abilities. If appearing in human form, Ra generally takes the shape of an elderly Chinese looking man in ornate red robes with copper embroidery. Strangely, Ra is the most popular Dragon to worship. No one in their right mind would even think of attacking Ra for fear that the sun would go out.

The Greater Dragons — Orb

Orb is a large brilliant Gold Greater Dragon worshiped by the Dragonswright church as the bringer of light and life. Orb is associated with daylight. Orb can speak, read, and write any known language, and is the equivalent of a Master Mage. Orb represents light, life, gold, and purity, among other things. Orb is rarely seen in public. Any public appearance of Orb in Dragon form usually means something cataclysmic is about to occur. Orb can remember events going back to almost the formation of the world. Orb prefers to speak to Priests of Dragonswright and those of Good alignments. Orb prefers to ignore those of Evil alignment. If attacked, Orb is the equivalent of a 21st level Master Mage. He has, among other skills, three levels of Magery, is a master of flight, has inherent Magical Aptitude, and, as a last resort, can attack with all four claws and his tail and bite. He can use his Breath Weapon, consisting of concentrated solar energy, up to twenty times a day. Orb is capable of shapechanging himself into almost anything, but he usually transforms himself into a Humanoid form, and frequently a Human. When doing so, he appears normally as a slightly middle-aged man in Oriental style clothing, generally marked with gold thread and/or gold embroidery.

The Moons – Aralve

Not much is known about this second, totally dark moon. The only ways that it is seen is when it passes in front of Val, or one (or more) of the three suns. Unlike, Val, however, it seems to be basically round and not an oval.

The Moons – Val

Like our own moon, Val seems to be a large airless oval-shaped rock, covered in small mountains, hills, small valleys, and quite a few meteorite impact craters.

The Moons

Æøæ has two moons: Val and Aralve. Val is pronounced like "veil." Aralve rhymes with "valve." Val is a very large, quite elliptical moon that, other than being very large and very ovoid, is much like Earth's moon. Aralve is smaller, round, totally dark, and faster. At times, there is a conjunction between Val and Aralve, where Aralve passes directly in front of Val. This is called "The Eye of Val." This is considered a bad omen. Aralve can also visibly pass on the right side of Val or the left side of Val. During these times, commoners say: "The Eye of Val is not upon us today". This is considered a good omen. Aralve is a dark companion moon that is generally only visible from Æøæ if passing in front of Val, or one of the suns. If the "Eye of Val" happens to occur on the same day as any solar conjunction, this is considered a bad omen. Should the "Eye of Val" appear on the same day as a Trinary conjunction, this would be a very bad omen. If the "Eye of Val" should appear on the same day as a true Triune conjunction, this would be a very bad omen indeed. One Bardic story has the beginning of the end of time happening with such an event. Note that there have never been any lunar eclipses — that is, the shadow of Æøæ passing in front of Val. Scholars and Priests studying these events have no explanation for this.

More About Conjunctions

Note that if a true Triune conjunction occurs, it is one of the rare times that there is total darkness anywhere on the planet. Total nightfall is very uncommon. Vampires exist, but are quite different from their Terran brethren. True Vampires would be almost impossible on a world with such infrequent nightfall. Weres are uncommon, and transformations usually occur when Val is full. With three suns, this happens far more regularly than on our world. Full moons are brightest when illuminated by Orb. When illuminated by Ra, full moons appear reddish, and are generally omens of battle. When illuminated by Ahi, full moons are bright and bluish and only happen rarely. Different types of Weres may be affected in different ways by different types of full moons. Such affectation is better left to your imagination. There is twilight when Orb is on the 'other' side of the planet, since neither Ra nor Ahi provide much light. But even so, this is not total darkness. The growing season is virtually year-long. Seasons do exist, but they are generally not as severe as on Earth. However, during times when Triune and/or Trinary conjunctions are about to occur, seasons can get very intense.

Conjunctions

When Orb, and/or Ra, and/or Ahi are in front of each other in various patterns, they are in conjunction. Conjunctions between Orb and Ra are fairly common, happening about twice a year. Conjunctions between either of these stars and Ahi are less common. A Trinary conjunction, that is, all three stars in a row in front of each other, is a once in a lifetime event. True Triune conjunctions, that is, Orb in front of Ra at the same time that Ahi is in front of Orb, only happen about once every thousand years. A Trinary conjunction would have one of the stars (normally Ahi) on the other side. Ahi is not visible through Orb. Secondary conjunctions infrequently occur between Orb and Ahi and/or Ra and Ahi. Secondary and tertiary conjunctions are not considered as powerful an omen as are Trinary or true Triune conjunctions. Ra is tenuous enough so that either Orb or Ahi can be seen through it. Neither Ahi nor Ra is visible through Orb, but Ra is big enough so that its borders extend well beyond the edges of Orb. Ahi is always visible when up, even when directly in front of Orb.

Seasons and Days

Æøæ has an ordinary orbital pattern. Its seasons are generally calm and regular. It has a rotation of 24 hours in a day. Note that all calculations of "day" are made by consulting just Orb's orbital pattern. Storms are generally short and about the same as on Earth, except for the 'Maelstrom'. There is not a lot of difference between the seasons. For instance, only in the extreme north and extreme south would it ever snow. A complete Commoner's Calendar and information about it is available.

The Solar System

Æøæ is the second planet in its system. There are at least seven others, but the citizenry thinks of them as moving stars. A zodiac has been developed in conjunction with the current dating system, and Astrologers are in high demand. A calendar exists for the world based on lunar motions and phases. It is almost impossible to create an accurate solar calendar, although it is possible to predict with some accuracy occurrences of conjunctions, but a semi-accurate calendar could be made if just considering Orb. The lunar calendar is much more accurate.

Do they Orbit or is it Magic?

Although their orbital patterns intersect, Orb will never crash into Ra or visa versa. Ahi orbits both, farther away, and does little to affect the orbits of either of the other suns. When viewed from Æøæ, conjunctions do occur. Scholars surmise that the suns are kept in position by magic. Priests think the suns are linked to the Greater Dragons in some way.

The Suns

Æøæ has three suns, Orb, Ra, and Ahi. Orb is a medium-sized golden yellow sun much like our own. Orb provides most of the illumination and heat to the world. Ra is a very large, very old red sun. Visible if up, Ra provides some light and/or heat to Æøæ’s inhabitants, but not in large quantities. Ahi is a very small blue/white dwarf star that orbits both of the others. Ahi provides small amounts of blue/white light and little heat to Æøæ’s inhabitants.

Æøæ is a world much larger than Earth, with larger landmasses and larger oceans. It has less native metal and metal ore, but makes up for this in larger quantities of gems and jewels. Æøæ has four major continents, an upper and lower continent in the eastern hemisphere, and an upper and lower continent in the western hemisphere. This book only considers the largest of the four continents, the one in the North East. Later products will cover the other three continents, as well as other material.

ÆØÆ

Æøæ is a fantasy setting developed from a synthesis of materials. Most material is taken from various campaigns I have run throughout my 45 year career. Æøæ (from Eldish - "The World") is a place of high fantasy, swords, and sorcery. It has a lot in common with other fantasy worlds (such as Goblins, Orcs, Kobolds, Dwarves, Elves, etc.), and a lot different, but it is unique in that not only does it have the usual wilderlands adventures, dungeons, castles, evil mages, corrupt high priests, etc., but it is a world where characters can carve out their own little piece of the world without seriously hurting the mileau. Some of the creatures might seem familiar, but some have been changed. Not every creature is what you think you know.

How the Universe Began

How the Universe was Born.

Before time began, there was the Cosmic Egg. The egg knew nothing about anything or anyone. It was alone in a starless realm. Eons passed without any time going by, and still the Cosmic Egg sat in empty nothingness. Centuries later, the egg pulsed with energy once, and then, at first, very few in number, perhaps an eon between each pulse, there were more pulses. As the egg grew, the pulses increased more and more – once per eon, once per age, once per century, once per year, once per month, once per day, until finally the egg was glowing constantly with its own pulsating energy. Finally, after a timeless time, the egg began to crack. It was hatching! When the shell could not hold its contents anymore, it exploded with immeasurable force. A soundless explosion rocked the cosmos as the forces within the egg were finally released. This was the "Big Bang". This is the popular belief about how the universe began.

I've Been Slouching lately.....

I realize I've been quite remiss on posting stuff to this blog. In order to try to make things right, I'lll be posting some information about the gaming setting I've been designing. Immediately after this post willl be the first Post about "Aeoae" and soon more. Sorry about that. I'll make it up to you. Bruce Gray